Container and closure therefor



June 10, v1941. 1H. SEVERY '2.r 45,5 3

I CONTAINER AND CLOSURE THEREFOR Fi'led Feb. 16, 1938 Patented June 10, 1941 CONTAINER AND CLOSURE THEREFOR Victor vH. Severy, La Grange, Ill., assignor to Wilson & Bennett Manufacturing Company, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Application February 16, 1938, Serial No. 190,780

' 6 Claims.

This invention relates to containers such as pails, barrels, drums, or the like, having full open tops with removable heads or covers, and is particularly directed to novel means for fastening such heads or covers in position. Closing rings for fastening such covers are now commonly in use and some of such rings are provided with quick operating closing levers or closing means positioned within the rings. These closing devices have been found advantageous but when the ends of the ring are provided with inwardly projecting lugs for the closing apparatus it has been found difiicult to properly draw in the extreme ends at the final closing or tightening position inasmuch as there is a tendency to spring the ends of the ring outwardly due to the tension on the inner portions of the lugs.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide improved means for fully closing the rings and. drawingthe ends inwardly or toward the center. The covers are usually provided with gaskets and it is desirable to provide means for lightly fastening the covers in position when they are shipped from the container factory to the user to prevent undue pressure on the gaskets, the closing means also being arranged to fully close or tighten the rings for shipping purposes or the like.

Another object of the present invention is to provide novel means for such variable closing positions.

Other objects and advantages will appear more fully from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 is a plan View of a portion of a container with the closing device in temporary or lightly closed position and with parts broken away for convenience in illustration;

Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the ring spread to open position;

Fig. 3 is a similar view showing the ring in tightened or completely closed position; Y

Fig. 4 is a sectional detail taken on the 'lin 44 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a sectional detail taken on the line 55 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 6 is a plan view showing a modification.

A barrel or container 1 as shown in the drawing is provided with a head 8 and cover 9. The cover has a rim ID that fits within the open top of the container and is provided with an outwardly projecting flange H that lies over the gasket I2. This is illustrative of the usual construction of containers of this type. The ring I3 is of the split contractible type and channeled in cross section to engage with the bead and flange for fastening the cover in position. One end 14 of the ring has an inwardly extending lug or projection l5 and the opposite end 16 of the ring has a somewhat similar lug or projection H. A closing lever I8 is pivoted at Hi to the projection l5 and is preferably curved to fit within the ring and may be provided with any suitable catch or fastening means (not shown) A link or arm 20 is pivoted at 2l to the lever l8 at a point adjacent to the pivot Hi. This arm comprises an upper link or bar 22 and a lowerlink or bar 23. The free or outer ends of these link members are connected by a pivot 24 and is best shown in Fig. l. This pivot has an enlarged portion 25 at one end and a smaller portion 26 at the other end, these two portions being separated by an annular flange 21 of slightly larger diameter than the larger portion 25. I

The lug or bracket I! has a peculiarly shaped recess or opening 28, one portion 29 being sub stantially circular and of slightly larger diameter than the flange 21. This hole or opening has a slot 30 extending to the outer edge of the bracket and somewhat inwardly or toward the center of the container. This channel is slightly greater in width than the diameter of the smaller section 26 of the pivot 24; but is less in width than the diameter of the larger section 25.

The opening 28 has a lateral extension or notch 3| which is preferably of substantially semi-circular form, the center being on the same circumferential line as the center of" the hole 29, or substantially on a line between the center of the hole 29 and the pivot I9 when the parts are in closed position. This extension or notch is slightly larger than the smaller portion 26 of the pivot 24 so that this portion may fit or engage therewith.

The lower link or bar 23 is in general in the form of a double cam or contact member having a cam or face portion 32 arranged adjacent to the outer end .for contact with the inner surface of the rim or wall Ill-of the cover when in closing position, as shown in Figs. 1 and 5; and also has a projection or extension 33 that projects beyond the opposite end of the link member 22 and engages with the rim or wall In during the final closing movement. Y

The link 20 may be slightly bent or held so that the outer or free end will be biased or tend to urge the pivot 24 to cause the larger portion 25 to engage with the opening 28, or other means provided for this purpose. In the arrangement shown, a spring 34 is secured at one end 35 to the link or cam member 23 and presses against the lower surface of the bracket I! as shown in Fig. 5, thus tending to swing the outer end of the link downwardly.

When the ring is to be fastened in slightly open position as shown in Fig. 1, the small diameter portion 26 of the pivot 24 is brought into engagement with the notch 3| and the ring closed in the usual manner. This holds the cover somewhat lightly in position without undue pressure on the gasket, which is desirable for shipping the empty containers. When the container is to be filled the lever I8 is swung to opening position as shown in Fig. 2, at which time the pivot 24 engages with the hook-like outer portion of the opening 28 so that the ring may be forced open in the event of sticking or the like. After the container has been filled the pivot is shifted in the opening 28 to bring the enlarged portion 25 into the hole 29 as shown in Fig. 3, and when the ring is closed with the pivot in this position the ends will be drawn close together as shown, thus making the desirable tight closure. The spring 34 will tend to hold the end of the link with the pivot in the last-named position so that it will automatically move into this position upon the opening movement and there is little liability of the operator inadventently failing to properly close the container. Furthermore, when the enlarged portion 25 of the pivot is in the opening 29 it cannot pass out through the slot 30 and consequently the closing parts will be held in convenient position for operation.

During the closing movement the cam or edge 32 will engage with the rim or outer wall Ill and this will first tend to cause the end l6 of the ring to be drawn in against the bead and flange while the opposite end I4 is still somewhat free for circumferential movement. Thereafter, or at substantially the final closing movement, the projection or cam 33 will engage with the rim Ill so that at the final closing, both cam faces or projections 32 and 33 are in engagement with the rim and serve as fulcrums or abutments whereby both of the ends of the ring are swung inwardly or toward the center of the container to make a tight closure or fit. I have found that this duplicate drawing in or closing action is particularly desirable for barrels, drums, or the like, where considerable force is necessary to contract the ring to its final closing position.

I am aware that it has heretofore been proposed to provide a plurality of notches or recesses in one of the brackets or lugs to permit pivotal engagement with the link at different points to provide for diiferent circumferential positions of the ring when closed but I have found that it is objectionable to have such notches at difierent distances from the ring as it changes the closing action and furthermore such notches are apt to permit the pivot to slip out of place during shipment and may also serve to improperly close the ring due to the operatorfailing to utilize the proper notch, all of such objections being avoided by my novel arrangement in which the pivotal points in the bracket are substantially in alignment or at the same distance from the ring so that the bending moment on the bracket is the same regardless of the different fastening positions.

In the form above described it will be noted that the link is detaehably secured to the coacting bracket but in Fig. 6 I have shown a modification in which the lever 36 is pivoted at 31 to one bracket 38 and the link 39 is pivoted at 43 to another bracket 4|. In this form the pivot 42 which is the same as the pivot 24, coacts with a hole or opening 43 in the lever 36 in the same Way as above described. This arrangement of course provides for the variable closing positions of the ring.

While I have shown and described preferred embodiments of my invention it will be apparent that changes may be made in the arrangement of parts or details of construction in order to adapt the same to different containers, and therefore I do not wish to be limited to the particular construction described except as specified in the following claims, in which I claim:

1. A closing ring of the character set forth, including a lever having a pivotal connection with one end of the ring and a link having pivotal connection with the lever adjacent to said pivotal connection, a bracket 0n the opposite end of the ring having intersecting openings of different sizes, and means at the free end of the link for engagement with said openings, said means having portions of Varying sizes adapted to fit in the different sized openings in the bracket whereby the connecting point between thelink and the bracket may be positioned at varying distances from the end of the ring.

2. The combination with a contractible split closing ring having brackets extending inwardly from the ends thereof, of a closing lever pivoted to one of said brackets, a link pivoted to the closing lever adjacent to the first-named pivot, a pivot secured to the outer end of the link and having portions of different diameters, said lastnamed bracket having intersecting holes therethrough, the centers of which are substantially in alignment with the center of the link when the ring is closed, said holes being of different diameters corresponding with the different diameters of the pivot and adapted to be engaged by the respective portions of the pivot to vary the pivotal connection of the link with the lastnamed bracket.

3. The combination with a container having a cover with a wall portion fitting in the container and a flange extending outwardly over the container head, of a split contractible channel shaped closing ring for engagement with the flange and head, a bracket extending inwardly from one end of the ring, a closing lever pivoted to said bracket, a link formed of two bars pivotally connected to the lever adjacent to the first-named pivot, a. bracket extending inwardly from the opposite end of the ring and having a hole therethrough with a channel opening to the edge of the bracket which is smaller than the hole, and a recess opening into the hole on the side toward the opposite bracket, a pin secured to the outer end of the link and having one portion between the ends of the bars of less diameter than the hole and adapted to engage therewith, and having a reduced portion of substantially the same diameter as the width of the channel and the width of the recess, said pin also having an annular flange between the end portions of substantially the same diameter as the hole but adapted to pass vfreely therethrough, and a spring tending to press the end of the link to the engaging position for the portion of the pin having the. larger diameter.

4. The combination with a closing ring of the character set forth, having inwardly extending projections adjacent to the ends, a lever pivotally connected with one of said projections,

and a link connecting the lever with the other projection, of cam means coacting with the link and having one portion adjacent to the outer end of the link which engages first with the rim of the cover and another portion extending a short distance beyond the opposite end of the link for engagement with the rim of the cover adjacent to the pivot between the link and the lever at the final closing movement whereby both ends of the ring will be drawn inwardly when the ring is closed.

5. A split closing ring for containers, having a lever pivoted at one end of the ring and a link having a pivotal connection with the other end of the ring and with the lever and adapted to draw the ends of the ring toward each other when the lever is swung to closing position, and means on the link having one portion intermediate the ends of the link which contacts the cover adjacent to one end of the ring and another portion extending beyond the end of the link which is pivoted to the lever and which contacts the cover adjacent to said end of the link, said portions adapted to engage with a portion of the cover of the container for drawing both ends of the ring inwardly when the ring is drawn to closed position.

6. The combination with a split contractible closing ring having brackets projecting inwardly from the ends thereof, of a closing lever pivoted to one of said brackets, the other bracket being provided with an opening formed of intersecting holes of different diameters, the centers of which are at approximately the same distance from the ring, a link pivoted to the lever and having a pin with portions of different diameters for adjustable engagement With the holes in the last-named bracket, means tending to urge the last-named end of the link to one engaging position for the pin, a cam-like projection on the link adjacent to the outer end thereof for engagement with the inner rim of the container cover to draw the adjacent end of the ring inwardly when it is closed, and a cam-like extension on the link extending beyond the pivot connecting the same with the lever, which engages with the rim of the cover during the final closing movement to draw the adjacent end of the ring inwardly.

VICTOR H. SEVERY. 

